Ever wonder how those online surveys work, where there is just this magical survey for you to fill out and then all the answers go away the second you hit submit?

Welcome to Google Forms.

Let’s explore a little. To start, answer these questions, then hit the submit button:




Now that you’ve hit submit, where do those answers go? Right here! That’s right, all of your answers go into a handy dandy spreadsheet, and all I have to do is scroll through and see who answered what question and how.

So how do you create a form? It’s easy. If you are not already, log in to Google Documents, and click the create button. From the list, choose Form. A window like this one will appear:

Sample Form Beginning.png


Once you have named your form and chosen a theme, you will be directed to this window:

Sample Google Form.png


I have highlighted a few items for you to see so you know where to find them. There are six different types of questions
  • Text: You ask a question and they fill in a short answer (usually only a couple words)
  • Paragraph Text: For longer answers – usually a couple sentences or even a paragraph
  • Multiple Choice: You can offer anywhere from 2-10 options for your subjects to choose from
  • Checkboxes: You list options just like in Multiple Choice, but your subjects can choose more than one option (make sure if you have required questions that you offer a “none of the above” option)
  • Choose From a List: Like Multiple Choice, except the options drop down using an arrow
  • Scale: This option is good for ranking questions, such as my question in the survey above about ranking the food in the dining hall. You can change the scale so that the numbers can go anywhere from 0 to 10.
  • Grid: These questions are tougher to explain, so I will show you an example:

A Grid question looks like this when you are creating it:
Sample Grid Form.png

It looks like this when you finish the question:
Sample Grid Question.png

Play around with these types of questions, then start creating a survey of your own. It must be school appropriate, and should follow these basic guidelines:

REQUIREMENTS
  1. Give your survey a title by clicking where it says “Untitled Form” and typing in an appropriate survey name.
  2. The first question should be a Text question that asks the survey taker for their name.
  3. Your survey can be about anything – movies, sports, food, school, etc., but have a theme that is school appropriate.
  4. Your survey needs to have at least seven questions (max 15), because you need to use at least one of each of these type of questions: text, paragraph text, multiple choice, checkboxes, choose from a list, scale and grid.
  5. Decide how many of your questions are required that your survey takers answer. The name question should be required, but after that, it is up to you.
  6. When you finish your survey, choose a theme for your survey from the theme button located at the top of your window.

After your survey is completed, click the button that says "Choose Response Destination". It will open this window:
Sample Response Destination.png
Click the blue "Create" button. It will create a new file on your Drive page that can be used to view the responses of your survey. The "Choose Response Destination" will change to "View Responses". Click that option to see where the responses to your survey are posted. In order to get to your survey again use the toolbar located above the spreadsheet. Here is a little cheatsheet:
external image sample-form-spreadsheet.png?w=479


Right now you want to share your survey with the class! To do this you need a link to your survey. On your spreadsheet choose the “Form” option, followed by the “Go to live form” option. This will allow you to look at your survey the same way your survey takers will see it. If you like how your survey looks and want to let other people take the survey, copy the link to your survey from the address bar at the top of your browser. Let’s post this survey on the same sheet where you posted your M&M graphs. CLICK HERE to go back to that spreadsheet. When you have posted your survey, go ahead and start taking your classmates' surveys.